Want advice on upgrading 2008 Macbook

[davidinva]

I have an April 2008 Macbook which I use as my main computer (with an external monitor and keyboard) and occasionally take traveling. It still works fine, but will not support OS beyond Lion, or iCloud, and some software no longer supports Snow Leopard (which I use and like). I was in an Apple Store today and looked at the Macbook Pro, the Macbook Pro with Retina, and the Macbook Air. The Air looks like it would be harder to use with externals as it lacks ports. The Retina display wouldn't matter as most use would be using the external monitor. The Macbook Pro looks like an upgrade to what I have.

Would the basic Macbook meet my needs? The price is $1,199 for the base model (what I paid in 2008), but the $1,499 one looks like the better choice (8 GB ram, and a larger hard drive).

 

[MeUnix]

Depending on what you use your Mac for, as you really didn't clarify what you do on it. If the base model meets your needs, I don't see why you'd pay more.

But on the other side, getting the "beefier" Macbook Pro would be nicer, more speed and smoothness is never a bad thing

 

[davidinva]

Depending on what you use your Mac for, as you really didn't clarify what you do on it. If the base model meets your needs, I don't see why you'd pay more.

But on the other side, getting the "beefier" Macbook Pro would be nicer, more speed and smoothness is never a bad thing

Thanks for your reply. My uses: email, web, photo editing with Photoshop Elements 11, iPhoto, and a number of specialized photo apps; some word processing, some Excel, and some family history. I back up everything to three different external drives. I also am using my iPad more and would like for things to sync well.

 

[MeUnix]

Thanks for your reply. My uses: email, web, photo editing with Photoshop Elements 11, iPhoto, and a number of specialized photo apps; some word processing, some Excel, and some family history. I back up everything to three different external drives. I also am using my iPad more and would like for things to sync well.

I would go for the MacBook Pro with 8GB RAM. That way, the editing programs you use wi be smooth and everything will flow nicely. Plus, like I've already said it's nice to have the extra performance

 

[borostef]

You say that you do quite a lot of photo editing... In that case, if I were you, I would go for the MacBook Pro with 8 GB of RAM... It should speed things up...

 

[jav6454]

Upgrade the RAM and then if you still need speed, chime in for an SSD.